sffanmike25
Bench Warmer
1. Detroit – Matthew Stafford, QB, Georgia
-I’m going the easy route on this pick this time. With a workable RB tandem and the prototypical Wide Receiver in Bryant Johnson… err… Calvin Johnson, you figure the Lions follow the age-old blueprint of putting their offensive core in place.
2. St. Louis – Jason Smith, OT, Baylor
-Dustin has pretty much made Curry his lock choice for the Rams, just as he did with Jake Long and Amobi Okoye in prior years. Therefore, I’ll stick to what usually happens and give them Smith.
3) Kansas City – Aaron Curry, LB, Wake Forest
- In this case, KC decides to build with a top tier player in Curry for their 3-4 scheme. BPA + a long-term need will work out great. If there is a major concern with their NT spot, they’ll address it with a veteran + mid-round pick combo. Can’t get too caught up with team needs in the 1st round.
4) Seattle – Eugene Monroe, OT, Virginia
-Seattle just spent money on a top tier WR, so they need to make sure whoever is throwing the ball has a shot to complete their 5 step drop. Monroe is that guy.
5. Cleveland – BJ Raji, DT, Boston College
-Things are interesting as usual in Cleveland. With the random trade demands of Shaun Rogers, the Browns can easily tell him to pack his bags with this pick. Plus, the Browns reside in the same conference with power running teams like Pittsburgh and Baltimore, so you take the beef upfront and figure out how it all fits later.
6. Cincinnati – Michael Oher, OT, Ole Miss
-If Oher puts it together and plays to his ceiling, he could possibly outplay both offensive tackles ahead of him.
7. Oakland - Michael Crabtree ,WR, Texas Tech
-Al Davis does what he wants. And I’m not going to worry over the logic behind it. Crabtree has mind-boggling numbers and plays strong, so he’s the pick.
8. Jacksonville – Jeremy Maclin, WR, Mizzou
-The Jaguars took a defensive end last year, and that is the highest value position on the board. Therefore, they take Maclin here and hope he can do what Jerry Porter couldn’t do: Produce.
9. Green Bay – Brian Orakpo, DE, Texas
-Green Bay goes with a BPA selection here. Not much to say here *insert own punch-line or joke*
10. San Francisco – Everette Brown, DE, FSU
-The 49ers can go 4 or 5 different ways with this pick with the board the way it is, and will go with Everette Brown. Lawson probably isn’t the pure rusher the 49ers wanted him to be, and both Haralson and Lawson have injury histories.
11. Buffalo – Vontae Davis, CB, Illinois
-With Jabari Greer having skipped town, the Bills take VD 2.0 with their pick. This pick makes more sense than many realize, as it will move Terrence McGee back to the nickel, and will let Buffalo have 2 CB’s (McKelvin and VD) locked up to reasonable long-term money deals in this bloated CB salary market.
12) Denver – Aaron Maybin, DE, Penn St.
-Denver’s aggressive defensive free agent signings will allow them to ease Maybin into a rushing specialist role, similar to the way they did with Elvis Dumervil. Denver needs to get to the QB on a more regular basis, and 3-4 DC Mike Nolan does this with rushing LB’s. While they are tempted to take Maualuga here, they will go with the long-term upside of Maybin instead.
13. Washington – Andre Smith, OT, Alabama
-At the 13th pick, the Redskins feel they can get a top five value in Smith. Daniel Snyder will kick down a few extra bucks to have an extra strength trainer follow Smith around at all times leading up to training camp.
14. New Orleans – Malcolm Jenkins, CB, Ohio State
-Even with the signing of Jabari Greer, the Saints take Jenkins to play either CB or Safety. The Saints should know better by now than to pin their hopes on one DB saving the day, so they hedge both their signing of Greer, and their confidence in Tracy Porter, with this pick.
15. Houston – Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR, Maryland
-Houston’s pick is the most fun, since you can pretty much put in the flavor of the week here. This time, it’s DHB, the burner from Maryland.
16. San Diego – Tyson Jackson, DE, LSU
-The Chargers scouts know what they are doing, making a solid 1st round pick two years straight. With Olshansky leaving to Dallas, you need a versatile and athletic player like Tyson Jackson to hold down the end.
17. N.Y. Jets - Mark Sanchez, QB, USC
-The Jets take their long-term option at QB here in Mr. Sanchez. Hopefully they don’t push him into action too soon, he needs a significant amount of time to adjust.
18. Chicago - Hakeem Nicks, WR, North Carolina
-The Bears passed on about 15 wide receivers in free agency, so it is obvious they want Hakeem Nicks. Yep, 100% obvious.
Maybe this 1st round WR pick will work better than the last one.
19. Tampa Bay - Peria Jerry, DT, Ole Miss
-Defensive tackles are at a premium early in this draft, so the Bucs take the best one they can find on the board.
20. Detroit (from DAL) – Rey Maualuga, LB, USC
-The Lions added to their offense with the 1st overall pick, so now they’ll add some energy on defense with Maualuga from USC. Having addressed QB and LB, they’ll have some intriguing options available with their 2nd rounder.
21. Philadelphia - Eben Britton, OT, Arizona
-After an early run on offensive tackles, the Eagles go get the next best available OT on the board. This guy’s pass blocking is underrated by scouts.
22. Minnesota – Alphonso Smith, CB, Wake Forest
- Fills a need, even though the Vikings seem to have a lingering need for another offensive tackle. They are a potential trade back candidate since it would be too early to draft Beatty here (but that kind of logic didn’t stop Houston last year on Duane Brown)
23. New England – Larry English, LB, NIU
-The Patriots will go with the talent here over their direct need. They have another pick very soon from the Cassel/Vrabel deal, so they will address that in the 2nd round.
24. Atlanta - Brandon Pettigrew, TE, Oklahoma St.
-The Falcons probably could opt for a linebacker at this spot as well, but they will go with a tight end to keep the positive momentum up on offense.
25. Miami – Sean Smith, DB, Utah
-This guy’s name probably doesn’t appear in all 1st round mock drafts, but he fits a need for Miami as a big, 6’3” combo FS/DB.
26. Baltimore – D.J. Moore, CB, Vandy
-Baltimore needs a talented CB that is under the age of 30. D.J. Moore happens to be pretty talented, and is not on the back-end of his career. With McAllister gone, and Rolle feeling disrespected, it’s time to start bringing in new blood.
27. Indianapolis - LB Clay Matthews, USC
-Still avoiding the Percy Harvin pick for Indy, as I think Indy wants to get more explosive on defense. Specifically, they want to do that up the middle, and this pick will help them get started. They’ll go DT soon, feeling safe that they’ll land Marks or Moala later on. And WR Mike Thomas in the 4th round
28. Philadelphia (from CAR) – Knowshon Moreno, RB, Georgia
-Moreno ends up first off the board because of his skill-set fitting better in Philly’s offensive scheme. Wells’ power running style isn’t what they want. They need either Moreno or McCoy, and I’ll try to be unbiased on who they choose from the two (for once).
29. N.Y. Giants – William Beatty, OT, Uconn
-The Giants have done a lot on defense, so it’s time to reinvest a bit on offense. I’m not going to stick them with a WR just yet, because once they get Plaxico’s bullet-inflicted leg and court papers taken care of, they’ll be stacked at WR with Plax, Smith, Hixon, Moss, and a non-1st round pick.
30. Tennessee – James Laurinaitis, LB, OSU
-I’m still giving these guys a LB, even with Haynesworth leaving. They have enough DT’s on the roster who can improve and soften the impact of that loss. They’ll find another gem of a DT prospect in the mid-rounds.
31. Arizona – Chris Wells, RB, OSU
-The power running of Chris Wells will fit well in the Cards’ scheme. Teams in the 2nd round might get similar, if not favorable production out of McCoy and Brown, who will be the 3rd and 4th backs off the board.
32. Pittsburgh – Alex Mack, C, California
-The Steelers get a top tier player at #32 for their O-line. One of the best values of the draft in terms of a long-term payoff.
Notable names not in the 1st round: Lesean McCoy, Josh Freeman, Michael Johnson, Kenny Britt, Duke Robinson, Max Unger
-I’m going the easy route on this pick this time. With a workable RB tandem and the prototypical Wide Receiver in Bryant Johnson… err… Calvin Johnson, you figure the Lions follow the age-old blueprint of putting their offensive core in place.
2. St. Louis – Jason Smith, OT, Baylor
-Dustin has pretty much made Curry his lock choice for the Rams, just as he did with Jake Long and Amobi Okoye in prior years. Therefore, I’ll stick to what usually happens and give them Smith.
3) Kansas City – Aaron Curry, LB, Wake Forest
- In this case, KC decides to build with a top tier player in Curry for their 3-4 scheme. BPA + a long-term need will work out great. If there is a major concern with their NT spot, they’ll address it with a veteran + mid-round pick combo. Can’t get too caught up with team needs in the 1st round.
4) Seattle – Eugene Monroe, OT, Virginia
-Seattle just spent money on a top tier WR, so they need to make sure whoever is throwing the ball has a shot to complete their 5 step drop. Monroe is that guy.
5. Cleveland – BJ Raji, DT, Boston College
-Things are interesting as usual in Cleveland. With the random trade demands of Shaun Rogers, the Browns can easily tell him to pack his bags with this pick. Plus, the Browns reside in the same conference with power running teams like Pittsburgh and Baltimore, so you take the beef upfront and figure out how it all fits later.
6. Cincinnati – Michael Oher, OT, Ole Miss
-If Oher puts it together and plays to his ceiling, he could possibly outplay both offensive tackles ahead of him.
7. Oakland - Michael Crabtree ,WR, Texas Tech
-Al Davis does what he wants. And I’m not going to worry over the logic behind it. Crabtree has mind-boggling numbers and plays strong, so he’s the pick.
8. Jacksonville – Jeremy Maclin, WR, Mizzou
-The Jaguars took a defensive end last year, and that is the highest value position on the board. Therefore, they take Maclin here and hope he can do what Jerry Porter couldn’t do: Produce.
9. Green Bay – Brian Orakpo, DE, Texas
-Green Bay goes with a BPA selection here. Not much to say here *insert own punch-line or joke*
10. San Francisco – Everette Brown, DE, FSU
-The 49ers can go 4 or 5 different ways with this pick with the board the way it is, and will go with Everette Brown. Lawson probably isn’t the pure rusher the 49ers wanted him to be, and both Haralson and Lawson have injury histories.
11. Buffalo – Vontae Davis, CB, Illinois
-With Jabari Greer having skipped town, the Bills take VD 2.0 with their pick. This pick makes more sense than many realize, as it will move Terrence McGee back to the nickel, and will let Buffalo have 2 CB’s (McKelvin and VD) locked up to reasonable long-term money deals in this bloated CB salary market.
12) Denver – Aaron Maybin, DE, Penn St.
-Denver’s aggressive defensive free agent signings will allow them to ease Maybin into a rushing specialist role, similar to the way they did with Elvis Dumervil. Denver needs to get to the QB on a more regular basis, and 3-4 DC Mike Nolan does this with rushing LB’s. While they are tempted to take Maualuga here, they will go with the long-term upside of Maybin instead.
13. Washington – Andre Smith, OT, Alabama
-At the 13th pick, the Redskins feel they can get a top five value in Smith. Daniel Snyder will kick down a few extra bucks to have an extra strength trainer follow Smith around at all times leading up to training camp.
14. New Orleans – Malcolm Jenkins, CB, Ohio State
-Even with the signing of Jabari Greer, the Saints take Jenkins to play either CB or Safety. The Saints should know better by now than to pin their hopes on one DB saving the day, so they hedge both their signing of Greer, and their confidence in Tracy Porter, with this pick.
15. Houston – Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR, Maryland
-Houston’s pick is the most fun, since you can pretty much put in the flavor of the week here. This time, it’s DHB, the burner from Maryland.
16. San Diego – Tyson Jackson, DE, LSU
-The Chargers scouts know what they are doing, making a solid 1st round pick two years straight. With Olshansky leaving to Dallas, you need a versatile and athletic player like Tyson Jackson to hold down the end.
17. N.Y. Jets - Mark Sanchez, QB, USC
-The Jets take their long-term option at QB here in Mr. Sanchez. Hopefully they don’t push him into action too soon, he needs a significant amount of time to adjust.
18. Chicago - Hakeem Nicks, WR, North Carolina
-The Bears passed on about 15 wide receivers in free agency, so it is obvious they want Hakeem Nicks. Yep, 100% obvious.
Maybe this 1st round WR pick will work better than the last one.19. Tampa Bay - Peria Jerry, DT, Ole Miss
-Defensive tackles are at a premium early in this draft, so the Bucs take the best one they can find on the board.
20. Detroit (from DAL) – Rey Maualuga, LB, USC
-The Lions added to their offense with the 1st overall pick, so now they’ll add some energy on defense with Maualuga from USC. Having addressed QB and LB, they’ll have some intriguing options available with their 2nd rounder.
21. Philadelphia - Eben Britton, OT, Arizona
-After an early run on offensive tackles, the Eagles go get the next best available OT on the board. This guy’s pass blocking is underrated by scouts.
22. Minnesota – Alphonso Smith, CB, Wake Forest
- Fills a need, even though the Vikings seem to have a lingering need for another offensive tackle. They are a potential trade back candidate since it would be too early to draft Beatty here (but that kind of logic didn’t stop Houston last year on Duane Brown)
23. New England – Larry English, LB, NIU
-The Patriots will go with the talent here over their direct need. They have another pick very soon from the Cassel/Vrabel deal, so they will address that in the 2nd round.
24. Atlanta - Brandon Pettigrew, TE, Oklahoma St.
-The Falcons probably could opt for a linebacker at this spot as well, but they will go with a tight end to keep the positive momentum up on offense.
25. Miami – Sean Smith, DB, Utah
-This guy’s name probably doesn’t appear in all 1st round mock drafts, but he fits a need for Miami as a big, 6’3” combo FS/DB.
26. Baltimore – D.J. Moore, CB, Vandy
-Baltimore needs a talented CB that is under the age of 30. D.J. Moore happens to be pretty talented, and is not on the back-end of his career. With McAllister gone, and Rolle feeling disrespected, it’s time to start bringing in new blood.
27. Indianapolis - LB Clay Matthews, USC
-Still avoiding the Percy Harvin pick for Indy, as I think Indy wants to get more explosive on defense. Specifically, they want to do that up the middle, and this pick will help them get started. They’ll go DT soon, feeling safe that they’ll land Marks or Moala later on. And WR Mike Thomas in the 4th round
28. Philadelphia (from CAR) – Knowshon Moreno, RB, Georgia
-Moreno ends up first off the board because of his skill-set fitting better in Philly’s offensive scheme. Wells’ power running style isn’t what they want. They need either Moreno or McCoy, and I’ll try to be unbiased on who they choose from the two (for once).
29. N.Y. Giants – William Beatty, OT, Uconn
-The Giants have done a lot on defense, so it’s time to reinvest a bit on offense. I’m not going to stick them with a WR just yet, because once they get Plaxico’s bullet-inflicted leg and court papers taken care of, they’ll be stacked at WR with Plax, Smith, Hixon, Moss, and a non-1st round pick.
30. Tennessee – James Laurinaitis, LB, OSU
-I’m still giving these guys a LB, even with Haynesworth leaving. They have enough DT’s on the roster who can improve and soften the impact of that loss. They’ll find another gem of a DT prospect in the mid-rounds.
31. Arizona – Chris Wells, RB, OSU
-The power running of Chris Wells will fit well in the Cards’ scheme. Teams in the 2nd round might get similar, if not favorable production out of McCoy and Brown, who will be the 3rd and 4th backs off the board.
32. Pittsburgh – Alex Mack, C, California
-The Steelers get a top tier player at #32 for their O-line. One of the best values of the draft in terms of a long-term payoff.
Notable names not in the 1st round: Lesean McCoy, Josh Freeman, Michael Johnson, Kenny Britt, Duke Robinson, Max Unger
